American Song

American Song, written in 2016, is a masterclass in acting by Renato Musolino, directing by David Mealor, set design by Kathryn Sproul, and writing by Australian playwright, screenwriter, novelist, librettist, and newspaper columnist, Joanna Murray-Smith AM. It should not be missed.

Celebrating its 20^th year, and renowned for unforgettable, award-winning theatre, this one man show mounted by Flying Penguin Productions is both timely and designed to ‘raise the bar’ for theatre. Goodwood Theatre is transformed, and the audience joins ‘Andy’ on the stage. The proximity is purposely intimate and inescapable.

The usual auditorium is cleverly blocked off by a scrim that becomes part of the subtle changing lighting and scenery by Nic Mollison, and an intimate wall building site is created by Sproul. Key to the story, (spoiler alert) is a dry-stone wall that Andy is building as he tells his 90-minute story. The placement of each stone is measured, meaningful and ultimately heart-rending, and astoundingly Musolino knows exactly where each stone goes as he chats and builds. Congratulations to the students of The Adelaide College of the Arts for creating this incredible structure. The action is bathed in Quentin Grant’s delicate, unobtrusive sound bed that perfectly frames the story.

Murray-Smith started her prolific 30 playwriting journey in 1987 and luminaries including Meryl Streep, Sam Waterson, Kyra Sedgwick and Dame Eileen Atkins have strutted her stuff, seen in more than three dozen countries, including productions on Broadway and at the Royal National Theatre in London. The diversity of her work speaks for itself but in American Song, Murray-Smith brings the additional gift of writing passionately and authentically reflecting the male perspective as middle aged  ‘Andy’ tells a story of the personal, professional and marital struggle involved in raising a child in challenging and ever-changing times. The question that Andy is faced with is how much we are responsible for the world we have created and the people our children become?

It is not a simple family story, however. Outsiders reflect on the horror created by America’s determination that gun rights are about its history and inheritance, and the frequency and lethality of mass shootings since 1990 has created a new era of school shootings and public massacres that mark the beginning of a new era of youth violence.

It is this heinous phenomenon that forms the backbone of this story. It is an homage to those who did not get to sing their songs or tell their stories.

Musolino is a consummate actor who has been superbly directed by Mealor in this production. Each breath, each pause, each step is purposeful and designed to draw the audience close to Andy and his story. His joy lights up the room, his misery is measurable; his guilt is palpable. His regrets haunt him, and his despair renders the audience inconsolable.

The season is short, and the staging means seats may be at a premium. It is a ‘must see.’

Jude Hines

Lighting, Projection & Photography by Nic Mollison